Finding a Good Plastic Surgeon

Finding a good plastic surgeon is the best way to avoid or at least lower the risk of complications, deformity, and other aesthetic problems after surgery.  However, some patients are still choosing cheap procedures without even considering the risks they would face.

Meanwhile, these are some of the basic tips that would help patients choose a good plastic surgeon.

1.     Board certification is the most important thing.

Patients should take note that 48 states allow any doctor to practice plastic surgery.  And with the growing demand for cosmetic procedures, it is not surprising that even non-specialists are tempted to offer “services” they are not trained to do so.

However, common sense tells that a foot doctor is not someone who can effectively perform breast augmentation.

While there are many board certification bodies, the most prestigious and reliable is the American Board of Plastic Surgery.  In fact, members of this organization are the cream of the crop because they are required to pass a rigorous oral and written examination, continue their study, and take the test every 10 years.

2.     Check a surgeon’s record.

State’s medical board records any disciplinary action against a plastic surgeon.  Such information can be easily access through online, although some states require a person to make a letter of request beforehand.

People should pay close attention to any records of disciplinary action and settlements made by a plastic surgeon.  Also, they should make sure that their doctors are licensed to practice medicine within the state.

3.     Make sure the surgeon has hospital privileges.

Hospitals conduct background checks and any doctor who has no hospital privilege may not be the best one to perform plastic surgery which requires a high level of surgical skills and trainings.

Even if a cosmetic surgery is performed in an accredited surgical center, patients should still ask their surgeons if they have hospital privileges.

4.     The surgeon does not make far-fetched promises.

Any surgery comes with its own set of risks, in addition to the fact that it has limits.  For instance, rhinoplasty cannot recreate the nose of a patient’s celebrity idol because the changes are greatly affected by the underlying tissue, bone, and skin.

A good plastic surgeon is honest and does not make far-fetched promises to his patients.

5.     A good plastic surgeon will reject a bad candidate.

While money is a motivation for many people, a good plastic surgeon will decline to perform surgery to a patient who is a bad candidate.  This is because he believes that the safety of a person and his reputation as a doctor are far more important than money.

Why Neck Lift Is Often Combined with Facelift Surgery?

Facelift surgery  or rhytidectomy can remove or at least reduce the signs of facial aging.  However, not treating the “turkey” neck can further aggravate the appearance of sagging skin and “bands” and lead to a somewhat imbalance look.

To create balance, certain patients need to have platysmaplasty or more commonly referred to as neck lift surgery to complement their facelift.  With this additional procedure, the tradeoff is longer recovery, more swelling and bruising while healing, and of course higher surgical fees.

But if there is only a mild case of wrinkles, Botox injection is usually enough to treat the problem.  On the other hand, patients aged 50 and above whom often have more visible signs of aging; neck lift surgery can provide them a more permanent result and dramatic improvements.

If the only problem is the loose skin, most plastic surgeons will recommend the skin-only surgery in which they create two small incisions below or behind the ear, allowing them to excise the hanging skin before tightening the remaining part.  Once the reshaping is done, they will close the wounds with tiny sutures.

The advantage of skin-only surgery is the relatively quick recovery although it may not be ideal for older patients who manifest a severe case of muscle laxity.  For this problem, the underlying neck muscles should be manipulated; or in some cases should even involve the removal of weakened muscle along the throat area.

But for the plastic surgeons who will manipulate the weakened neck muscle, they should create another small incision under the chin.

However, some doctors prefer using sutures over manipulating the weakened muscle.  With this technique, a mesh-like device is used to lift and tighten the skin and tissue, thereby addressing the “turkey wattle look.”

Meanwhile, some facelift patients will more likely need liposuction than neck lift, particularly if their problems are neck “bands” which are caused by excess fats.  These often occur after weight loss although some people are just simply have the predisposition to have too much fatty deposits in their neck.

Liposuction can also be conducted to treat the excess fats in the chin and jaw area, which in turn reduces the appearance of jowling.  But if the problem is primarily caused by loose skin rather than by fatty tissues, incision-based facial rejuvenation surgery is still the most viable approach.

But one consideration to make is that liposuction should be only performed on patients with enough skin elasticity so it can retract once the fats are removed.  If not, they will end up with a sagging skin on the treated area.

Cosmetic Asian Eyelid Surgery

Asian blepharoplasty, also called double eyelid surgery, is one of the most popular facial cosmetic surgeries in the West and Orient.  But contrary to common belief, it is not a way to westernize or hide one’s ethnicity as it cannot alter the fundamental shape of the eyes.

A diamond eye will remain its shape after double eyelidsurgery since the procedure’s only goal is to define the eye crease.  It may involve completing an incomplete fold, changing the height of the eyelids, or creating new ones. 

It is important to remember that the eyelids are found in less than half of the Chinese population, while about 10 percent of the inhabitants from the Far East and South East Asia have one of their eyes lacking with a crease.  This fact alone is enough to allay the concern of some patients who are afraid that they may lose their ethnic features.

In the US, many cosmetic plastic surgeons consider Asian eyelid surgery as one of the most challenging procedures as they have to avoid overdoing the changes which can lead to unnatural results.  Also, it requires a tremendous amount of training, skill, and experience to prevent complications and botched results which are commonly manifested by “squinty” eyes and inability to completely close the eyes.

Nowadays, Asian eyelid surgery comes in several techniques in order to create the most natural results possible.  For instance, some plastic surgeons insert tiny sutures inside the eyelid to make new creases or reposition the existing ones; to further define the folds, some patients will need a small amount of their skin or fat removed.

While making a new eye crease, some plastic surgeons prefer using scalpel while others favor laser, which is said to minimize bleeding and postsurgical swelling and bruising because the heat has the ability to cauterize the blood vessel and tissue.  Some doctors also claim that laser technology provides them with more precision than when using a surgical knife.

Because the Asian eyelid surgery is a more involved procedure and it requires deeper incision than the traditional blepharoplasty (in which the only goal is to remove the excess skin and fats around the aging eyes), patients should expect longer recovery and more postoperative bruising and swelling.

This cosmetic surgery typically costs between $3,000 and $5,000—this already includes the fees for the anesthesia, facility, and surgeon.  But one important thing to remember is that choosing experienced doctors, especially those operating in large cities where the demand for plasticsurgery is high, come with higher fees.